Day VII: First Scars

The Sphere pulsed in front of me again, twice.

[200]

I only just realised how inefficient it is to be in a large group. I was so used to getting large amount of kills everyday. We killed dozens of goblins, easily 50, but we are 20 people who has to split all those kills.

I immediately realized that hunting in a group is severely inefficient. When I eventually get back after this expidition, I'm gonna hunt alone while trying to find out where we are.

I remembered Travis' advice, which I am thankful for. I focused my mind on exhaustion.

[1200]

Damn that's a lot of points. It just goes to show how tired and sore my body is. I was never a physical active person. It felt like I walked more here than I ever did in my life on Earth.

Thinking of Earth brought back bitter memories. My parents and best pal are probably worried sick as to where I disappeared to.

Maybe they're not that surprised? Considering the shame to my name.

I bought myself the [Essential Nutrients] for 200 points, and focused to wake up.

______________________

I woke up with Dan kicking my leg gently.

"Hey, lets go."

He was cheerful, while I wanted to punch him. I was just so tired, it felt like I need days worth of sleep from all this walking. I'm extra tired in my arms and shoulders from the massive fight, two days ago at the dried-river.

I struggled to sit up. I felt wasted. Where is coffee when you need it? I actually craved milk at the moment, which probably meant that [Essential Nutrients] doesn't include food.

"I really miss a shower right now." Tessa, one of the girls, said. I kept seeing her glaring at Dan with a blush.

'Romance in this place? No thank you.' was my line of thinking back then.

Most got up with some effort. Travis were a few trees away, speaking with that tall guy named Victor. He was bald, with a thick beard.

After a few struggling moments, I got up like the rest. We waited for Travis and Victor. We could hear their whole conversation, since the forest had no other occupants to make noise.

"Even if we somehow managed to bring back three swords per person, people will still stay fed up and empower Rebecca more." Victor said.

"That bitch is already working on my nerves with everything else. We do everything while the rest just drink, sleep and piss!" Travis was clearly pissed. He looked menacing with his wild middle-aged beard.

"We should be prepared for anything, even from them." Victor gave a stern glance.

They had to notice us overhearing everything, because the conversation stopped right there.

"Okay people. Hopefully we find dozens of weapons. If we can, we must try to get at least 3 swords per person by the end of tomorrow."

I wanted to protest. The group of 5 goblins had only one sword. It would take way longer than a day to collect 30.

People must have noticed my face, because Travis was staring at me, as if waiting for my opinion.

"I encountered a group of 5 goblins. Only one had a sword. Another had a bow and arrow. They also don't just charge, they coordinated their attacks. I don't doubt our skills, but we won't find even 30 swords by the end of tomorrow."

He nodded, but everyone was all in high spirits. I didn't know if it was because we are such a big group, or because they were really strong, but what I said didn't even make them bothered.

We moved towards the morning sun, heading further east. We were moving really fast, yesterday too. It felt like we are making ground so quick, we would reach the place where I found the birds before noon. We also encountered more goblins along the way, but their small groups of 2/3/4 meant nothing against 20 of us.

After we killed the sixth group of goblins, of which I had no share, I realized something.

"Oh wait" everyone stopped dead in their tracks, turning to me.

"I forgot to mention something, because all the attention was way too focused on the weapons. Besides I am incredibly tired in general."

There were some suspicion, worry and doubt in their eyes. I couldn't really tell, but it was a hard stare.

"Where I was, the trees changed, the temperature is colder, and there were… birds."

Some mouths were open.

"Are you serious!" Tessa and Leah looked excited.

"Are you sure" Victor asked me, with Travis beside him giving me a stern look.

"Yes. Sorry, I really forgot."

"Anything else your memory seems to have trouble with?" Travis asked, disappointed.

I shook my head. I felt bad. I couldn't believe I left out the detail. Initially, I just didn't want to share because I was paranoid. Now, I felt like I owe them.

We continued walking, but no one talked to me. Instead, everyone were eager to find out what the change in the forest could mean.

"Don't fret too much brah" Dan strolled beside me, noticing my loneliness.

"Thanks." We just walked together.

I got a little worried when it got pass noon, since we haven't encountered yet what I found days before.

We walked longer than we should have and finally encountered 6 goblins late in the afternoon. They had weapons. Two had shields, one had a club, and one had a spear that is twice his own length. The metal blade on the top glimmered in the shining sun.

They were running at us, from 100 meters away. I was surprised that they noticed us from that far before we could. It was also strange that we encountered them before the change in the forest, not to mention that we should have encountered them almost 6 hours ago with our fast pace. Where they came from in the distance, the forest still looked artificial.

The others didn't think like me though, because everyone immediately dashed and ran full sprint to the goblins.

Travis and Marcus had incredible speed. That other quiet girl, Hannah, was also really fast.

"You get the weapon if you get the kill!" Travis shouted as he ran into the goblin, dodging the thrusting spear. With all that speed, he delivered an insane blow with his fist against the goblin's nose. The goblin smacked into the ground on his back.

The rest of the fight was short and sweet. When everyone got there, each goblin was surrounded by three or more people. Needless to say, it was a massacre.

I just walked to them, a bit confused at how nothing is the same as last time. I thought I was being paranoid again, so I just tried to ignore my unease.

"I thought you said the forest changes and there are birds?" Travis said while twirling his spear, as everyone were celebrating the easy win.

"I did say that, and I did mean it."

It wasn't even a second after I said that, when Travis' eyes shot to look behind me.

"Incoming goblins six o'clock!"

Some reacted to his words, understanding his militaristic call out. Others like me were a bit confused by what he said.

I turned around, and saw a group of 5 goblins charging. One just released an arrow. I jumped to prone on the ground, towards my left. The arrow missed. Lucky me, for turning just in time.

As I stood up, crawling behind a tree, I saw everyone running to the goblins.

'Are these people crazy?!' I thought to myself.

I also ran after them. They were finishing the goblins off with our overwhelming numbers so I just stood there and did nothing.

Three people surrounded a sword-and-shield goblin. I went with my sword, to get at least one kill today. Dan appeared from behind the goblin, grabbed its arm, and disarmed the sword. I stabbed forward with the sword, pass the shield, through the heart.

They were already laughing as Dan joked with his claimed sword. It was his even though I got the kill, because I didn't need another one.

I scanned the area around while Dan made jokes and sword stances. Tessa and others cheered him on.

I was actually bothered for not seeing where the birds and nature life should be, when we obviously passed the area where I fought the initial 5 goblins alone.

Travis came beside me.

"Whats wrong?"

"I'm just confu-"

I was cut off by a sound.

A sound that came from the trees. It sounded weird, filling the gap that the silence permanently occupied between the them.

A low, throaty rumble, deep enough to vibrate in my chest, but layered with something…

…wrong.

A clicking noise, like talons tapping against bone, hidden beneath the growl.

A chill went down my spine. The hairs on my neck flexed straight.

Then silence.

A thick, suffocating pause.

I held my breath.

My heartbeat hammering in my ears, my instincts telling me to run.

"What was tha-"

A shrieking, rage-filled screech tore through our group behind me,

a sound so unnatural it sent a jolt of raw panic through my shaking legs.

My legs moved before my brain caught up, my instincts overriding thought. It wasn't just loud—it was wrong, a noise that didn't belong in this world.

I jumped forward and turned just as quick to look behind me.

It was big. Twice my high, on all fours.

Thick brown feathers that looked like fur. No neck, and a head as wide as it's shoulders.

Two pitch black eyes, bigger than the size of my head.

A large bloody beak, with the body of Leah in it. Her head and arms draped out the beak, before being flicked up and swallowed.

"HAAAAAA!" Everyone lifted their clubs, rocks, whatever they had and swung to hit it. I stood frozen, seeing their clubs and rocks bounce of.

Dan leaped to its head, aiming to thrust his sword into one of the large, black, eyes. His face held determination as he clenched his teeth. I bent my knees to charge and help him after he landed his hit.

I mind couldn't process how it happened, but there stood only a large paw on the ground, where Dan was. A mush of blood and bones pushed through the giant claws on the flat ground. Bent limbs that looked like two arms, and a leg, came out from the sides. One arm still clutched a sword.

"Retreat!" Travis was already some distance from me when I snapped out of my daze, my eyes were so fixed on the bloody paste om the ground, that I didn't keep up with anything happening around me.

My eyes flicked all over, like flashing images, on what layed out before me. Broken battered bodies on the floor. People still fighting to take the beast down.

Marcus swung with a sword, presumably Dan's.

"HARHHAAAAAAGH! DIE!" A deep, broken, guttural scream, accompanied with red eyes and much, much tears.

He was sent flying with a backhand hit from the creature, towards my far right.

I ran after him, and halfway I heard a clicking sound accompanied by a groan. On instinct, I stopped rolled to the further right. I heard a loud thud, and felt vibrations through my feet, coming from the direction of where I would have been if I kept running. I released my sword from my hand when I rolled, completely forgetting about it.

I was moving on instinct. And it was telling me to run, but I wanted to at least save Marcus. My mind was a mess, and I couldn't fathom what was going on.

I really wanted to leave him behind, and thinking back, I should've.

Luckily, a spear hit the beast on the back. It looked unaffected, as if the spear didn't pierce the feather-like hide.

I say luckily, because it turned around and leaped towards the direction it came from. All without a sound. I didn't waste time on this opportunity. I pulled the body of Marcus around the tree.

His T-shirt was ripped off. His whole torso and back started glowing, and I could see the skin boiling. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared. He woke up, with a gasp.

"Run!"

We ran. He followed behind me while I held his arm like a parent held a kid.

I went into full sprint, pushing my whole body to its limits to run as long and far as I can. I sprinted at my full speed for a whole 10 minutes.

Marcus held up.

I looked behind me, I saw nothing.

We kept running, but now at a jogging pace. Our jaws hang open, trying to breath more air than our lungs could take at a time. I even spotted two goblins to my left as we ran.

They noticed us and ran after us.

It made us run faster again, eventually loosing them.

It was dark by the time we collapsed on the ground. The same dirt that was found everywhere in this damned forest.

Marcus cried, in a fetus position. He made weird sounds. He cough and threw up. All while breaking down emotionally and gasping for breath as if he had an asthma attack.

I also threw up, except nothing but my own grime got out just like Marcus. My mouth and throat was so dry, it felt like it had cracks.

It was simply exhaustion. I felt like I was dying. My heart was beating louder in my ears than the breaths I took. I was on all fours for a long moment.

Marcus was silent. I turned to my left, only to see him passed out, face down on his own snot and slimy grime.

I fell on my side, scanned around me, and passed out as my heartbeat calmed down.

That day, was the day that changed everything. I always think back with regret, and wondered how things could've turned out if I made different choices during that time. Dan's death was too sudden, and now while writing this, I can't even recollect his face. All I can recollect, is the bloody paste om the ground.

The day ended with 0 points on my Sphere, and 1 goblin kill.